KamAZ shareholders are negotiating to sell an additional stake of 5 percent to 6 percent to Daimler on the same terms that the German carmaker bought 10 percent last year, Russian Technologies chief Sergei Chemezov said Friday.
“We’re talking about 5 percent to 6 percent. The price remains the same as in 2008,” Chemezov told reporters, adding that it would be “more effective” for Daimler to buy a bigger stake.
He said Daimler might increase its stake to a controlling one by 2017 to 2018.
Analysts said a purchase of about 5 percent would likely serve as a prelude for Daimler to build up to a blocking 25 percent stake but that the company was unlikely to seek control of Russia’s largest truck maker.
Troika Dialog, which currently has 44.4 percent in KamAZ, sold Daimler the 10 percent stake for $250 million in December 2008. Daimler also agreed to a one-time $50 million payment in 2012 based on KamAZ’s successful performance.
“We’re still considering the possibility of selling both 13.2 percent and 15 percent, which would be more effective for Daimler,” said Chemezov, who is also chairman of KamAZ’s board of directors.
Troika proposed that Daimler and Russian Technologies buy a 13.2 percent stake in KamAZ earlier this year.
The state corporation, which holds 37.8 percent in KamAZ, began talks in September on acquiring the shares, which would give it a controlling stake, but Daimler has a priority option for the shares as part of the initial agreement.
“The 5 to 6 percent is a matter of a difference in prices. Daimler is ready to buy a minimal stake at the price we’re requesting,” Sergei Skvortsov, managing director at Troika Dialog, said at the same news conference, which followed a KamAZ board meeting on its plans for 2010 to 2013.
Daimler declined to comment on its negotiations with the Russian shareholders.
“We’re always in talks with KamAZ as our partner, but we have nothing to say regarding the stake increase,” Daimler spokesman Heinz Gottwick told The Moscow Times. He also said Daimler was “very pleased” with its partnership with KamAZ.
The companies created two new joint ventures in November, which will operate alongside KamAZ in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan. Each side is to invest 4.1 million euros ($5.9 million) in FUSO KamAZ Trucks Rus and 5.9 million euros into Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok.
KamAZ expects to sell 27,200 vehicles next year and 46,100 by 2013, the company said in a statement released after the board meeting. The company forecasts revenue of 128.9 billion rubles by 2013 and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 15.2 billion rubles, the statement said.
The truck maker also said it would invest 19.7 billion rubles in development over the next four years.
KamAZ reported a first-half loss of 1.84 billion rubles ($64.7 million), a relatively positive figure compared with the 19.4 billion ruble loss sustained by carmaker AvtoVAZ in the same period.
Chemezov said KamAZ planned to take a cheap loan from the government to finance its investment program of up to 3.7 billion rubles next year and that Russian Technologies would request preferential lending terms from the state.
KamAZ shares gained 3.4 percent Friday on the MICEX, outperforming the exchange’s benchmark index, which finished up 0.6 percent.
“It makes no sense for Daimler to increase its stake to a controlling one,” said Andrei Rozhkov, an analyst at Metropol. “It would be enough for the company to have a blocking stake only in order to control a sales network and joint ventures with KamAZ.
Andrei Markov, an analyst at Renaissance Capital, said an additional 5 percent sale would not change much for KamAZ or Daimler.
“The only meaning of this deal is that Daimler wants to demonstrate its commitment to further increase its stake and continue partnering with KamAZ,” he said.
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